CINCINNATI, OH - No. 7 Rutgers saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 30-11 loss to Cincinnati Saturday night at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. The Scarlet Knights dropped their first game of the season, falling to 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the BIG EAST.

The loss moves RU in a three-way tie with West Virginia and Louisville atop the BIG EAST Conference. Cincinnati gained bowl eligibility, improving to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the league. 

UC quarterback Nick Davila led Cincinnati to its biggest upset in school history. Davila scored on a one-yard run and threw an 83-yard touchdown pass as the Bearcats were able to find the endzone against one of college football's best defenses and one of its biggest success stories.

Rutgers' loss, coupled with a loss by Michigan earlier in the day, leave only No. 1 Ohio State and No. 13 Boise State as unbeaten at the Division I-A level.

Sophomore running back Ray Rice ' the nation's third-leading rusher ' finished with a season-low 54 yards on the ground, but still established a new single-season rushing record with 1,388 yards in RU's 10 games so far this season.

Sophomore quarterback Mike Teel finished with career highs in passing yards (238), completions (21) and attempts (42), but his four interceptions proved costly.

Cincinnati cornerback DeAngelo Smith returned Teel's floating sideline pass 74 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that put the Bearcats in position for the big upset. They'd never beaten a team ranked better than No. 9.

Davila's short pass to Brent Celek turned into the clincher. The beefy tight end slipped through two defenders and spun away from another on an 83-yard touchdown in the third quarter, putting the Bearcats up 27-3 with their longest play of the season.

The 30 points were the most given up by Rutgers this season ' the defense was allowing an average of only 10.9 per game.

Davila made an unannounced start in place of Dustin Grutza, who had a sore leg, hip and passing shoulder from

Davila fumbled his first snap of the game, giving Rutgers a chance to take the early lead, but Teel overthrew a receiver who got open beyond the coverage. Then, Jeremy Ito ' the kicker whose field goal clinched that win over Louisville last week ' was wide left from 31 yards.

Davila completed 11-of-15 for 277 yards without an interception. The senior also scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard run scramble for a stunning 10-0 lead.

Smith intercepted a Teel pass and ran untouched on the sideline on the fourth-longest interception return in Cincinnati history.

Freshman wide receiver Kenny Britt hauled in a career-high nine balls, while senior tight end Clark Harris had a season-best 102 receiving yards on five receptions. Teel found Harris on a 66-yard throw to set up a Rice touchdown - his 16th of the season - in the fourth quarter.

Senior linebacker Devraun Thompson had a game-high 11 tackles for Rutgers defensively.

No. 7 Rutgers returns home where the Scarlet Knights will host Syracuse next Saturday on "Senior Day" at a sold out Rutgers Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes

The 30-11 loss'?.

* Is the first of the season for Rutgers (9-1, 4-1 BIG EAST).

* Is the latest in a season that Rutgers has suffered its first loss since 1958 when the 7-0 Scarlet Knights dropped a 13-12

decision to Quantico Marines on Nov. 15.

* Moves Rutgers into a three-way tie for first place in the BIG EAST Conference with West Virginia and Louisville. All three teams are 4-1 on the season.

The 30 points are the most given up by Rutgers since last season's 45-40 loss to Arizona State in the Insight Bowl.

The 17-3 halftime deficit marked just the third time this season Rutgers trailed at the half. In the Scarlet Knights' last game against then-No. 3 Louisville, RU trailed 25-14 at the half before earning a 28-25 victory. On Sept. 29, Rutgers trailed at halftime 14-10 at USF, before earning a 22-20 victory in Tampa, Fla.

The 14-point halftime deficit equaled the largest halftime deficit this year for the Scarlet Knights. RU also trailed Louisville by 14 on Nov. 9 before coming back for the 28-25 victory.

Player Notes

With a 13-yard gain in the second quarter, sophomore RB Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) established a new Rutgers single-season record for rushing yards, passing "JJ" Jennings' 1973 season total of 1,353 yards. Through 10 games this season, Rice has totaled 1,388 yards.

Rice's fourth-quarter rushing touchdown was his 16th of the season, which moved him into a tie for second place on the Rutgers single-season rushing touchdown list with Henry Benkert (1924) and Howard Talman (1915). He needs five more rushing touchdowns to tie the RU single-season record of 21 set by "JJ" Jennings in 1973.

Rice's touchdown was the 21st of his career, moving him into a tie for 10th place with Frank Kelley (1916-18) on the RU all-time rushing touchdown list.

Rice also moved into sixth place on the single-season all-purpose yardage list with 1,418 yards through 10 games. He passed Brian Leonard's 2003 total of 1,368 yards.

With a reception in the first quarter, senior FB Brian Leonard (Gouverneur, N.Y.) extended his BIG EAST record streak of games with at least one reception to 44 (all 44 games he has played in).

Leonard also became the first player in Rutgers history to record 200 receptions in his career. With four catches against Cincinnati, he now has exactly 200 career receptions.

With his 11-yard punt return in the first half, senior Willie Foster (Miami, Fla.) moved into a tie for fifth place with Henry Stevens on the Rutgers career punt return yardage list with 444 for his career.

With 90 total yards on four kickoff returns, Foster moved into third place on the Rutgers all-time kickoff return yards chart with 1,480 in his career. He passed Eric Young (1,451 yards from 1985-88) to move into third place. He also moved into a tie with Young with 64 career kickoff returns. Foster is now averaging 23.1 yards per return in his career.

Senior TE Clark Harris' (Manahawkin, N.J.) 66-yard reception in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career. He finished with 102 yards receiving on five catches - the first time this season and the fourth time in his career he has surpassed the 100-yard mark in receiving.

Harris moved past Leonard and into sixth place on the Rutgers all-time receiving yards list with 1,871 receiving yards in his career.

Freshman WR Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.) set new career highs in receptions (9) and receiving yards (91), The nine receptions are the most of any Scarlet Knight receiver in a game this season.

Sophomore QB Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) established a new career high in passing yards (238), attempts (42) and completions (21) against Cincinnati. His 66-yard completion to Harris was one-yard short of his career long set last week against Louisville.

Senior DT Ramel Meekins' (Westwoodd, N.J.) first-half fumble recovery was the first of his career.

Senior FB Jean Beljour's (Hackensack, N.J.) fumble recovery on the special teams unit was the first of his career. 

Junior K Jeremy Ito (Loma Linda, Calif.) extended his school-record to 49 career field goals with a 34-yard successful attempt in the second quarter.